Ashes to Ashes
by quirkbother
Summary: The story of Dan Curint, where he came from, and how he ended up in Morrowind. By the way, this is set before the events of the game Morrowind, but take place in Morrowind.
1. Prologue

1_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own the Elder Scrolls universe or any of its characters. I have created my own characters, however, to go in the story._

_**Author's note: **__This is the Prologue to my story of my character, Dan Curint. An important note is that though he may be involved in the main quests of games in later stories, he will not be in a main questline here, though he will go through some factions._

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Prologue

In year 309 of the Third Era, there was great rejoicing in the small High Rock village of Green Glade. In this year, the Argonian and Khajiit citizens of the village finally were recognized as humans-and therefore, citizens- by the High Rock nobility.

They elected their first ever Earl as leader. They chose the Argonian Usheeja, who had well demonstrated his abilities as a leader. He had been the one who had gone to the court of the High Rock rulers to plead for human rights for the beast races, and had led the people through countless raids by the prejudiced adventurers that were in the area, and the occasional Orc army attack.

That same year, they had the largest amount of births and least amount of deaths since the creation of the village. They celebrated with a large festival, to celebrate the newborns and remember those few who had died that year. That year, one of those children born was Dan Curint.

Unlike most of the other members of the village, Dan's family was a Breton one, and therefore, his mother and father were the natural healers of the village. He was raised as a mage by his father, but a Khajiit neighbor by the name of M'rajjar taught him the way of the sword, and taught him a bit of some other, less desirable traits.

In the year 3E 319, Dan had already mastered many spells from his father, and had learned how to wield a sword quite well by M'rajjar, though he still wasn't strong enough to hold more then a shortsword. Usheeja was still Earl, for the glorious ten years he had led the town. That year, however, an important even happened. This year, Usheeja had recovered an ancient amulet, said to come from the tooth of one of Skyrim's dragons, that was worth much money. A museum had offered over ten million gold pieces for it. With it, Usheeja could fund more projects to increase the town's size.

The town celebrated it's good fortune with another great festival, greater then even that one which they had participated in ten years ago. The people were happy, and knew that their futures were bright, and that many great things were to come.

They never did. A week later, the day before Usheeja was to go to the museum, the village was attacked. Dan awoke to the sound of his mother's crying voice. He ran outside, and saw the town being destroyed by a small group of bandits. He saw his father fighting a group of the bandits, fighting. M'rajjar ran to him, and protected him. He never took his eyes off his father.

His father had cut down three bandits with a bound sword, and was fighting four more. Suddenly, one of them hit his father down. He then walked over to his father and pulled out a sword. M'rajjar stepped in front of him then, so he could not see, but he knew from his mother's scream what had happened. His father, the man who had always said he would protect him, was dead.

M'rajjar put him in the bushes near the town outskirts, and told him to stay there. He did so, and watched as the bandits captured all the Argonian and Khajiit citizens, including Usheeja, and killed all the others. M'rajjar refused to go, and Dan watched as they stabbed him through the neck, and he fell to the ground and died.

He then heard the bandits speak. "This is a good load here, we'll bring 'em around to Vvardenfell, and sell 'em to the Suran trader. He offered good gold for these things." Dan stared in hate as they dragged along all of them, some of whom had been life-long friends.

Dan didn't move out of those bushes for a long time. He just sat there for a while, crying for those who had been lost to the bandits. After a while, the sadness faded, and then the rage rose. He would hunt them down, he would kill them, he would-but no, he could never track them. What could he do?

Then he remembered the words of the bandits. He remembered that they had said they would sell them in Vvardenfell. Where was Vvardenfell? Then he remembered his lessons. Vvardenfell was a part of Morrowind only recently available for settlement for non-Dunmer peoples. He knew what he would do then. He would go there, and he would find Usheeja, and return him to High Rock, no matter how long it took.

But first, Dan would prepare. He needed to be ready before he went. And so, he would go to the cities of High Rock. Learn more of his magic and blade skills, and find out about the land of Vvardenfell. In five years, he would depart.

To the East. To Morrowind.


	2. Chapter 1: First Views

1Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 1: First views

It was the year 3E 324, in the month of Hearth Fire. Dan sat down on the chair, feeling slightly sick from the roll of the waves. He was aboard The Golden Sea, taking a boat to Vvardenfell. From what the captain had told him, they were nearly there. Finally. After all these years, he could begin the search for Usheeja.

Over the five years, he had grown much taller and stronger, and slightly wiser. His black hair had been kept trimmed short after he left the village, and his skin had grown pale from his magic studies. But his eyes were the biggest difference. His brown eyes, once filled with the laughter of being a child, were now simply curious, which was exactly what Dan had become.

Dan had been known among the people he lived with in Daggerfall these past years as the one who would always ask questions and try to figure things out-and would get promptly punished by the Imperial woman who looked after him. There was one day, while talking to a Khajiit, he had been pulled away by the woman, scolding him for talking to a beast race. Dan said he was his friend. The woman had the Khajiit arrested afterwards for 'harassing' him.

The next night, Dan had used the lockpicks he had, still left after being given to him by M'rajjar, and stolen from the alchemy shop next door. He then planted the alchemy apparatus under the woman's bed, and had her framed for it. He had never seen her since.

Dan felt the ship lurch, and heard the captain say, "Breton! We're here!" Dan walked out, and saw for the first time the land of Vvardenfell. In all truth, it didn't look any good.

He was in a swampy area, with a terrible smell of dead animals and sewage. Dan noticed that there were only a couple buildings made out of strong material here. He guessed they would be the Imperial Offices and the traders-or traders, as it would appear. He walked off the ship, and onto the docks of Seyda Neen.

A guard walked up to him, and said, "Welcome to Vvardenfell! We haven't had any new visitors to this old place in a while. Do you plan on living here, or are you just visiting someone?" Dan replied, saying, "I would like to register to live here." "Very well," the guard said, "if you'll just follow me.

Dan walked in the building, and saw an old man who appeared to be a Breton-or an Imperial, he couldn't tell which. The man walked over to him. "Hello, I hear you want to register as a citizen of Vvardenfell. I am Socucius Ergalla, and as the Census and Excise Office agent here, I am to register all citizens here. Please just fill out this paperwork., and you'll be on your way."

Dan filled out the paper, listing all the information it asked for, such as name, profession, and birthsign. He gave the paper to Socucius, who put his seal on it, and told him he would register it. He then told Dan to go to the captain learn more about Vvardenfell.

Dan stepped out the door in the back of the Census and Excise Office, and walked on through the next door, to meet the captain. The captain was...not in good shape. He identified himself as Lucius Seranian, and he was definitely drunk. He tried to speak of Vvardenfell, but forgot where he was in his description, and wished Dan a happy Day of Lights before collapsing on the floor. Thankfully, Dan had studied Morrowind well enough to know what to do to get around. He needed to find a silt strider. So, Dan stepped out the door, and made his first step in Vvardenfell, and his first step to finding Usheeja.

Dan walked out, and ran into a Bosmer, one of the shorter races in Tamriel-the guys, at least. He had an annoyed look on his face, and walked over to Dan. He then spoke in a distressed voice, though it sounded snobby, and said, "Hey, you, do you know where the captain is? Someone took the key to my house!" Dan pointed without a word to the captain's door. The Bosmer ran in, and screamed. "By the Nine! The captain is dead! Someone killed the captain!!!"

Panic ensued after that. The elf, whose name was Fargoth, quickly picked up the Imperial, who was twice his size, and called for a healer. The guards rushed over and looked around for someone to help him, and Socucius ran out to help. Then, Lucius woke up, and it took two seconds for everyone to realize he was drunk.

While Socucius yelled at Lucius, Dan quickly ran to the nearby building that was a trader's. He walked in and asked the owner if there was a bed. The owner said yes, but that it was his bed. Dan then offered to pay fifty gold for the bed. The High Elf accepted, and brought Dan to the small room.

Dan went to sleep, glad to finally be off the water. As he went to sleep, he thought of his goals, and how he was to find Usheeja. He decided he would try to find out something from one of the nearby citizens-a Khajiit or Argonian, preferably. He drifted off to sleep, thinking of the days before the attack.


	3. Chapter 2: The Search Begins

_**Author's Note: **__This is the first chapter that has a combat scene with Dan. There will be many more, but this is the first, and I made the battle and the short aftermath a large part of this chapter._

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 2: The Search Begins

Dan woke the next day to the voice of the owner of the trader's outpost. The High Elf told Dan he had already slept for six hours, and he would have to find somewhere else to sleep. Dan, after groaning for a bit, got up and left, but not before taking one of the High Elf's Cyrodillic Brandies off the shelf downstairs. Normally, he wouldn't try something like that, but there was no one else in the trader's, and he was slightly angry at having been woken up.

That night, Dan went to the lighthouse, and asked the woman there if he could sleep there. She said she would allow him, but he would have to sleep on top of the lighthouse, as the only bed she had available for a guest was already taken by a friend, she said. Dan walked up to the top of the lighthouse, laid down the small mat he had, and went to sleep.

That morning, Dan immediately got up and went down. The woman was still asleep, and her 'friend' was an Imperial man who was there. He looked rich, by the clothes he was wearing to sleep. Dan quickly stepped out.

He began his search by going to the trader's, to learn any information he could from the people who would gather at the upstairs area. He was greeted by stares, being new in town, but he ignored them, and asked the people around the tavern about any Khajiit or Argonians that had been hauled through here.

At first, his search was fruitless. Then, however, he came across a Redguard woman who was a Scout. She gave her name as Elone the Scout, and, after he asked about the Khajiits and Argonians, she looked around and, seeing no one watching anymore, asked him to come to a corner in the bar.

Curious, and glad to be learning something, Dan followed her over to the corner. She turned around, and, after sitting with him, told of a ship led by a Redguard a few years back that landed here in Seyda Neen, and had some of it's crew go around to someplace in Vvardenfell, though she did not know where. They had left a few weeks later, but they had left some of the crew members in a nearby cave in Seyda Neen. They may know where the Khajiit and Argonian slaves-for slaves they had become-were.

Dan headed downstairs to the trader, who looked at him. "Here for another bed? I'm charging a hundred gold coins this time." Dan told him that no, he wasn't here for a bed, he needed equipment. Arrille showed Dan his stock, and Dan looked through it.

Dan wasn't very impressed with what he saw. There were very few good quality items available in the shop, and the only really valuable things for him would be the scrolls, potions, and the silver short sword available in the shop. Dan didn't need any scrolls, and he had potions still from Daggerfall, so he just asked Arrille, "How much do you want for the silver short sword?" Arrille told him, "I'll give it to you for 83 gold coins," said Arrille. Dan found this to be a good price, and bought the sword.

Dan then went out to the cave Elone pointed him to-a small door just behind the silt strider made it glaringly obvious. Why would the guards have not investigated it already? Dan made his way to the door, and pushed it open, going inside the cave.

Dan made his way in, and looked around the cave. There was a small fire going near the entrance, and there was a Nordic man standing there. Dan made his way down to him. "Hello," Dan said, "would you happen to know anything about, say, slaves?" The Nord, angry, said to him, "You shouldn't have come in here, little Breton. You'll die today." The Nord pulled out an axe and swung at Dan.

Dan immediately jumped out of the way, remembering the acrobatics M'rajjar had taught him. He spun out of the way of the axe, moving around it, so he wouldn't be hit. He tried to get spells in, but he couldn't get them out before the Nord would swing at him and he would have to move.

Dan knew he would have to use his sword.

Pulling out his sword, Dan spun away again from the Nord's axe, and attempted to hit him, but hit the axe instead, sending him reeling. He barely moved out of the way of the next axe hit, and yelled in his head, "Come on! Think! What did M'rajjar always do to me in practice? Come on..." Then Dan remembered. He moved out of the way of another axe hit, then made a swinging movement at the Nord. The Nord flinched, bringing up his axe. Now Dan had a chance.

Dan kicked the Nord's hand, sending the axe flying into the air, and while it flew, Dan got the amazed Nord in the chest with his sword. The Nord, shocked, fell backward, and slowly died on the floor.

Dan looked at the body. He had never killed anyone before now. It had been in self-defense, but he had **killed** someone. What did M'rajjar say to do if he was ever in a fight to the death. Dispose of...of...the body, that was it. Dispose of the body.

Dan picked up the body, and tossed it into the fire, watching as it burned. He knew now what he had not realized before. When he had been in the village as a child, with the rage burning in him at the bandits, he had wanted to kill them all, and felt that it was nothing to kill someone. He had been wrong. No matter who it was, it was going to be hard to kill someone. He would kill someone if they attacked him, and maybe attack someone himself someday, but he would never again think killing was easy.

Knowing that he would probably kill more then once today, Dan cleaned his sword, put it away, and continued on down into the cave.


	4. Chapter 3: The Orc Smuggler

_**Author's Note: **__Sorry about the long update wait. I've been pretty busy lately, and haven't gotten to the story much. However, with the arrival of summer, I expect to have more time for the writing._

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 3: The Orc Smuggler

Dan continued down the caverns, being careful as to not run into more enemies. He had almost met his fate against the Nord. He would have to be more careful if he wanted to last two days. He really didn't want to have to kill another one of these smugglers, but would if he really had to.

As he made his way through the cave, he heard a noise to the left. Curious, he moved in that direction, leaving the path trailing downwards for later. Following the noise, Dan came to a door. The door had been locked-from the outside, oddly-and he heard noise from inside it. Dan tried a few of the lockpicks he had from M'rajjar. While using them and breaking them consistently, Dan noticed that each of the springs in the lock had a rhythm to them, of sorts. On his last lockpick, he managed to get the door open

At first, he noticed nothing in the room. All he saw were the shadows of the room. They reminded him of one night, in his home, when there was a terrible storm. Everything was black outside. He and his parents remained in one small room, with nothing but candles lighting the room. Then, a strange event happened. The lightning flashed, and the candles went out. It had been pitch black, and though Dan had never been scared of the dark, that night, he felt fear, not so much from the dark, but what the dark hid from him, the evils that might lay within it.

Suddenly, Dan saw a movement in the shadows, distracting him from his thoughts. He saw a Khajiit woman come out, and relaxed. She, however, seemed fearful, and said, "Why are you here? What did Riija do? Please don't hurt Riija, master!" The Khajiit fell to the ground, bowing towards him. Three others came out, two female Argonians and a male Khajiit. He looked at the female, and said, "Master? I'm not your master, you're in charge of yourself, aren't you?"

The Khajiit looked at me. "Wait...you are not my master? Will you use the key and free me?" The others leaned in, eagerly hoping for this key. He looked at them in confusion. "What? Why do you need a key to go free?" They immediately went from looks of hope to deep sadness, and showed Dan their bracers.

Dan was appalled at the bracers the slaves-for slaves they were-had to wear. The things were made of steel, and weighed at least five pounds. Looking at them further, Dan realized they also had an enchantment on them. He saw a small keyhole on each of them, and knew just by looking that no lockpick had ever been designed that could open these.

Seeing them the way they were, Dan told them, "Don't worry. I'll find the key." Their faces immediately lit up, and they thanked Dan for agreeing to this. Dan, in truth, really wanted to do this. It was wrong, in his opinion, to keep other races as slaves. Perhaps it was because he grew up in a small village in High Rock with more Argonians then Bretons, but he didn't think it mattered. It was wrong, and he would free them.

Dan turned around, and continued to go down the tunnel. As he went down, he watched carefully, and saw another smuggler down there. The smuggler was a Redguard female, and had a bow with silver arrows. Dan knew better then to just jump at her. Instead, Dan would try something he still had from in High Rock.

Back in his village, Dan had practiced alchemy often with his father. He also practiced it with M'rajjar, because it was one of the few types of magic M'rajjar saw a reason to know. One day, Dan had found a plant out in the wilderness, and he tried mixing it with some of his other ingredients. He discovered a potion with a strange smell to it. When he showed it to his father, he said it was faulty, and told him to dump it outside.

However, out there, he had met M'rajjar. M'rajjar looked at the potion, and told him it was actually a poison, and the plant he had found was Nightshade. He told Dan to never use it unless he needed to, but if he ever did need to use it, to spread it over a weapon, and get a flesh wound on his opponent. If he did so, the poison would get in the blood, and possibly kill the person.

Dan still had this, along with his child alchemy set, with him in Vvardenfell, and he knew that the poison would be a good idea to use here. He pulled out his sword, and slowly covered it with the poison. Then, he attempted to sneak up on the Redguard woman.

Apparently, M'rajjar had not taught him well enough, because the Redguard woman heard him hit a rock on the way down, and immediately turned around and pulled her bow out. Dan ran at her, and sliced at her. She jumped out of the way, and put an arrow to her bow, and shot it at him. Dan felt it go in his right arm. It was painful, but at least she hadn't got his sword arm.

Dan ran at her, and tried another slice, but once again missed. She shot another arrow, which Dan moved out of the way of. Then, spotting the woman's spare bow nearby, Dan got an idea. He ran to the bows, dodging another arrow, and grabbed one. It was a chitin bow, but it would work. He pulled the arrow, painfully, out of his arm, used the last few drops of the poison in his bottle on the arrowtip, and quickly turned around.

The woman shot another arrow, but Dan dodged it once again, and then shot a chitin arrow from the bow.

The arrow landed on the woman's shoulder, barely piercing it. She laughed at Dan, showing that he had not hurt her at all. Then, she pulled out another arrow to shoot at Dan, but suddenly grabbed at her chest, breathing heavily. She looked at Dan. "Poison...you...killed...me. She then fell face forward, laying there, and stopped breathing.

Dan checked her body, to see if she was still alive. He still didn't enjoy killing her, but felt somewhat, if not wholly, justified by the slaves here. He then checked her for the key to the slaves, but did not find it. He realized that it must be somewhere else, but there wasn't anywhere else to go in the cave, was there?

Dan checked around, and then found a door hidden in the wall of the cave in the back. Realizing this must lead to the key, he opened the door, and actually opened it on his first try with his lockpick. He went in, and then realized that the whole room was full of water.

Taking a deep breath, Dan quickly swam through the water, hoping that the end wasn't too far. After swimming a bit, Dan felt his lungs gasping for air. Knowing he couldn't hold his breath much longer, Dan swam quicker, and then broke the surface, gasping air in.

He saw a small stone stair-like formation. Dan used it to get up to the top, and reached the top. He walked along, and then ran into an Orc.

"Well, well," the Orc said, "I wasn't told we would get visitors." The Orc was wearing rather expensive clothes, and had netch leather pauldrons on. He also had a small, shining ring on, and Dan saw he had the key in a pocket. Then, Dan remembered his main reason for coming here: Learning about Usheeja.

"I learned that you people recently had a large group of slaves come through. I want to know where they went." The Orc laughed in Dan's face. "Ha! I'll tell you when we've both died and rotted away." The Orc then pulled out a sword, and attacked Dan.

Dan blocked the sword blow, and continued the fight. However, Dan only fought defensively. The Orc had information Dan needed. Dan would dodge blows, block swings, and jump out of the way of slashes, but never put a slash in himself.

Eventually, Dan thought that the Orc seemed tired, and Dan worked quickly. He hit the Orc's sword hand, making him drop the sword, and then got his sword into the Orc's leg. Painful, but not extremely dangerous. Dan knelt down next to him. "Now, tell me about the slaves." The Orc chuckled. "You're a smart Breton, aren't you? Alright, I'll tell you. When we-by Malacath! Ugh!" The Orc began grabbing his chest and moaning in pain. "What did you do to me, Breton?!? What did you do?!?"

Dan realized, in shock, that the poison had still been on his sword. "No!" Dan grabbed the Orc. "Tell me about the slaves! Now!" The Orc simply stared at Dan, and then died there. Dan, in anger, threw the Orc's body away, and cried. He had lost his only connection to Usheeja. Now, he had no way of finding him.

Dan, after sitting in place, crying over all that had happened, silently took the key from the Orc. He found a secret door above the entrance to the cave, and used it to quickly reach the slaves. While he freed the slaves, and they thanked him and cheered for him, Dan was silent.

That night, Dan went back to the town of Seyda Neen, knowing that his reason for moving here had come to a rather abrupt stop. What was he to do now? Looking around, Dan knew that he couldn't stay here. It just wasn't safe. Too many people came around here. Dan pulled out his money. He had thirty five gold coins. He thought for a second, then came to a decision.

Dan went to the silt strider, and asked how much a trip to Balmora was. "Thirty two coins," the Dunmer woman said. Dan gave her almost all the money he came here with, and entered the silt strider, making his way to Balmora: home of Hlaalu, thieves, and merchants.


	5. Chapter 4: Thieves and Thugs

1_**Author's Note:**__ The dream in this chapter will eventually be explained, but not for a long, long while, and in another story._

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 4: Thieves and Thugs

Dan sat in the silt strider, as it made it's way to Balmora. He watched the ground pass by, trying to forget the fact he would probably never again find Usheeja. He leaned back in the silt strider, in a small, comforted area, and tried to sleep.

Dan ended up in a place full of fire. Everything was burning. He could see fire all around him. He heard a strange voice in his head. He watched as two people battled each other. These people fought each other to a cliff, across a bridge. Then, everything flashed brightly, and Dan couldn't see. He heard a scream, and then the sounds of something large crumbling and breaking. He opened his eyes to see one of the people there, reaching for his hand, hanging on for his life on the cliff. Dan reached for his hand, but then everything went white again.

Dan woke with a start, breathing heavily. Everyone who was awake on the silt strider looked at him oddly, and then went back to what they were doing on the strider. One Dunmer, however, went over to Dan. "Bad dreams?" He asked. Dan nodded. "Well, don't worry about them. We're at Balmora now."

Dan felt the strider lurch, and heard the owner announce their arrival. Dan got off the strider, and made his way to the closest inn, the Lucky Lockup. He walked in, and asked an Argonian nearby, "Where is the owner?" He was pointed over to an Imperial man, who told him it cost ten gold for one day. Dan said he didn't have it, and the owner shoved him out. Cursing, Dan made his way south in the town, and reached another place: the South Wall Cornerclub.

Dan walked in, and asked the owner, Bacola Closcius, if he had a room. Bacola said it would cost ten gold. Dan sighed, and went downstairs to go to the bar. However, on the way, he ran into a Khajiit. As he walked by, the Khajiit watched him curiously. Dan, simply ignoring it, made his way downstairs. As he asked for a drink, he heard the door open upstairs. The barkeeper opened his mouth to tell him the price, there were yells. Immediately, Dan ran up to look at what was going on.

A Dunmer was attacking the Khajiit, taunting him, saying, "Ha, Habasi! You think you're so slick, think you can avoid me? Well, didn't you think I would just come for you? N'wah!" He swung at the Khajiit again, and then kicked her into the wall, laughing. He moved in to finish her off.

Dan then jumped at him, and kept him away from the Khajiit. He pulled out his shortsword, and began fighting the Dunmer. He pressed the attacker outside, then yelled, "Guards! Assault! Assault!" Immediately, these strange people in yellowish armor ran at them. They were apparently the guards, because the Dunmer took off.

While the guards chased the criminal, Dan walked inside, and went over the Khajiit. "Are you alright?" he asked. She stood up, and purred, "Yess. I'm fine, Breton." She then smiled gratefully. "Breton, thank you for helping me. Because of this, I extend you a very special reward. Would you be interested in joining the Thieve's Guild?"

Dan stood there for a second, considering the Habasi's offer. On one hand, the Thieve's Guild gave promise of reward, a place to stay, and protection. On the other hand, there was the fact that it was illegal, and that perhaps the Guild was why the Dunmer attacked. Eventually, Dan decided that if it went bad, he could just never have anything to do with the guild again, and said, "Yes. I would like to join the guild." Habasi took out a small quill, and used it to put some kind of ink on his arm. When that was done, she said, "Congratulations on joining. You are now a Wet Ear."

"A Wet Ear?" Dan asked. "I will explain it later. For now, you look exhausted. Bacola!" Habasi shouted. The Imperial came down. "Yes, Mastermind?" "Give the Breton a room. He's one of us, and needs rest." Bacola grumbled something, and then used a key to open the door to the room. Dan, happy to finally get somewhere to stay, walked in and immediately laid down on the bed. After a few moments, Dan was asleep, and this time, wasn't disturbed by dreams.


	6. Chapter 5: On the Job

_**Author's Note: **__Once again, this was a long while before an update. Sorry._

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 5: On the Job

Dan walked down the steps, making his way to Habasi downstairs. It had been three days now since he had joined, and he had done small jobs to insure his place in the Guild. He had even been promoted, and had made a lot of gold for his work. Habasi had promised him a special job today, however.

Dan went to Habasi, but was then puzzled to see an Argonian he had never seen before with Habasi. The Argonian, rather then wearing the usual thieving attire, had a purple robe on, and Dan could tell he was a mage.

Habasi and the Argonian turned to Dan. "Dan," Habasi purred," the Argonian has extended a special offer for the job today. I was just telling him more about you." The Argonian walked over to Dan, and took a look at him. The Argonian smiled, and said "Yes. You use magic, no? I can tell by the way you look. Thieving, while you may be good at it, is not your place, no?

"Well, I extend to you a special offer. I need you to steal two keys from the Morag Tong. You must get a storage room key and a basement key. Do so, and I will not only teach you in the finer points of Conjuration, but also get you into the Mage's Guild without paying the guild dues. Are you interested."

Dan stood, struggling with himself. The offer was good, he had to admit. But, it was the Morag Tong. You didn't just steal from them. They could kill you. He had already had a bad run-in with one yesterday at Lucky Lockup, he didn't need to do it again. However, Dan's want for more magic learning got the better of him. "Yes," Dan said, "I'll do it."

The Argonian rubbed his hands together in glee. "Yes, that is excellent. Now, the keys lie in two desks at the first floor. To get them, you must go at noon, and find the desk they're in. Now, you must hurry, because at five minutes after noon, the Morag Tong agents at those desks come back down, so you must hurry. If they see you, they will kill you, and proclaim you a thief and trespasser. I wish you luck." The Argonian left the South Wall Cornerclub.

Dan sat upstairs in his bed, constantly asking Bacola the time. Dan was worried. What if he got caught when he went to get the keys? What if they tracked him down? What if the Argonian was working for them? At this point, Dan began to become rather paranoid in his thoughts, until he realized how foolish they really were.

Finally, it was twenty minutes before noon, and Dan was leaving the Cornerclub, walking to the local Morag Tong headquarters. He made his way across the bridge, being inconspicuous, then he ran when no one could see him. He ran up, then hid on the stairs of Nerano Manor, near the Morag Tong building. It was five to noon. Dan watched the time. At four minutes, he walked down. At three, he made his way across. At two, he stopped at the door. With one minute left, he checked if anyone was looking, then went in.

It was very dark and red in the Morag Tong building, with red candles and lanterns everywhere, and it was nothing but shadows where they were not. It made Dan feel frightened. They could be right in the shadows, ready to attack.

However, no one attacked Dan, so he quickly ran to the desks. He checked one, and found some gold, but no keys. He checked another desk, and he found one of the keys. Not for sure which it was, he just continued looking.

Three minutes later, Dan still hadn't found the last key. Where was it? Then Dan thought to himself, _Perhaps it's upstairs._ Dan quickly ran up there, knowing his time was running out, and he looked in the desk up there. He found the key. He ran downstairs to the door, with one minute left. He opened the door, ran into the alley, and hid behind the building, as the Morag Tong assassins came back from their visit to Lucky Lockup.

Dan then made his way slowly back to the South Wall, making sure he didn't look like a criminal. That had been one of the first things that Habasi had told him. He had to act like he wasn't a thief.

Dan eventually made it back to the South Wall, and Habasi and the Argonian were there. The Argonian smiled. "Do you have the keys?" he asked. Dan showed him the two keys. The Argonian cheered. "Yes!" He then turned to Dan. "As I said, I shall teach you Conjuration, and you are now a member of the Mage's Guild.." He then had Dan follow him, and Dan went to the Mage's Guild for the first time.

It had people who knew every kind of magic he had ever seen. Mysticism, Alchemy, Enchanting, everything was here. Dan looked at the shelves of potions, and the desk of soul gems upstairs. He followed the Argonian to the center of the room downstairs, and was showed some beds he could stay in.

"Now," the Argonian said, "Are you ready for some lessons from a thankful Argonian?" Dan turned around, and prepared himself as the Argonian summoned the first creature.


	7. Chapter 6: A Meeting and an Offer

1_**Author's Note: **__VERY long update wait. My apologies sincerely._

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 6: A Meeting and an Offer

Dan had been a member of the Mages Guild for several months now. However, he had hardly risen in rank at all. They hardly gave him any jobs, and normally they said that he had somehow messed up on it or something along the lines. Sure, the Mages Guild had allowed him to greatly increase his magic skill, and he had a few friends among them. However, for the most part, the Mages Guild infuriated him.

One day, Dan went upstairs, and the Guild Steward, Estirdalin, walked up to him. "I have a mission for you, Journeyman," she said in a rather annoyed voice. Dan looked over at her. "Alright, what is it?" Estirdalin told him that he was supposed to meet with the Telvanni Council in Sadrith Mora to discuss the Mages Guild monopoly. Dan, after grumbling his acceptance of the mission, asked the guild guide to take him to Sadrith Mora, and he landed in Wolverine Hall.

Dan made his way through the fort to the streets of Sadrith Mora. He began to walk through the town, past the rather unique and impressive mushroom homes, and was then approached by a guard. "Present your hospitality papers," the guard said. Dan pulled out the papers he had bought the last time he was here. The guard allowed him past, and he went onwards the large Council building.

He walked into the Council building, and met the Dunmer woman at the entrance inside. "I'm here from the Mages Guild to speak to the Council." The woman silently nodded, and allowed him through. He stepped through the door, and suddenly saw a lightning spell fly by his face.

Dan jumped out of the way of a fireball, and saw three mages surrounded him, attacking him with spells. Dan quickly jumped out of the way of another spell, and then ran at and slashed the mage who had cast it with his shortsword. The mage screamed and fell. Dan turned around, and saw a frost bolt flying at him. Dan sent his own spell at it to stop it, and then ran towards the mage and attacked before he could recover.

One mage stood before him, and Dan saw from his eyes that he knew better then the others how to use magic. Dan dodged a very large fire spell from him, and summoned a Scamp. "Attack that mage, now!" The Scamp made a small yell, and ran at the mage. The mage pulled a shortsword and began to fight the Scamp. Dan saw his chance. He sent a powerful shock spell at the Dunmer, and the Dunmer succumbed to the spell.

"Well done," a voice said behind him. Dan jumped, and quickly turned around with his shortsword. Standing before him was the Telvanni Mouths of the Council. "We expected the Mages Guild had sent another incompetent Apprentice. We see we were wrong." The Dunmer speaking walked forward. He was in blue robes, and had a friendly, yet almost to friendly, ring to his tone. "Hello, I'm the Telvanni Mouth Aryon. I believe you're here to discuss the monopoly?"

Dan stood there, in slight shock. They had just tried to have him **killed **and now they were being friendly? Then again, not so much. While Aryon was being polite, the others seemed to just stare at him, as if appraising a piece of furniture or jewelry. In any case, he jolted his attention back as Aryon spoke again.

"You can tell the guild that we are not interested in and will not accept this monopoly. However, don't tell them that we attacked you, and we have an offer for you. We'd like you to join House Telvanni." Aryon smiled widely. "We are impressed by your skills with magic as we've seen them, and you are even a mage with an impressive sword swing. House Telvanni would be a great place for a mage like yourself. The Mages Guild will simply hold you back. And the Telvanni have access to magics no one has ever dreamed possible. So, will you join?"

Dan stood in awe of what Aryon had said now. It may have been from several months of somewhat unkind treatment from the Mages Guild members, but the offer was extremely tempting. That, and the magics that they spoke of proved to much for him. "Yes," Dan said, "I'll join."

"Good," Aryon said, "I'll add you to our House records. However, we are going to keep your existence as a member a small secret for now. As for your first mission...we would like you to act as our spy in the Mages Guild. Figure out how they reply to what we have put forward to them, and then return to me. I promise a very nice reward." Dan accepted the mission, and returned to Wolverine Hall. He took the guild guide, and met Estirdalin in Balmora.

"Well?" She said, almost as if she was sorry to see him. "What did they say?" Dan, trying to look her straight in the face, said, "They refused the monopoly." Estirdalin's face went red, and she immediately ran to the guild guide, muttering random things. "Great...exactly what will...Archmage will have a fit..." Dan sighed, and lay down in his bed.


	8. Chapter 7: Betrayal, Part 1

1

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 7: Betrayal, Part 1

Dan spent several of the next days excusing himself from the Mages Guild Hall in Balmora to escape to the Telvanni Council House. He would receive missions from the councillors in the Council House to fulfill. They were uneventful, but the rewards were great, as Aryon had promised.

Dan had then received recently a very hard misssion, where he had to hunt down a ring one of the Telvanni Masters, Neloth, lost in the Ashlands. Dan had a very close call when he ran into a Daedric shrine, but he had found the ring. That mission had promoted him a whole rank on its own.

Dan had also learned much of Telvanni laws and rules. At the time, after how his time with the Mages Guild had been, he enjoyed the idea of getting ahead of others with your own abilities. He was confident that he was the best mage in the House.

He had learned about all the Mouths, and all the Councillors. However, the Archmagister was unknown to him. Apparently, someone was out to kill him, and he was in hiding. When referred to in the Council, he was called Archmagister Uvirith, though that was surely not his name.

Dan once again took the guild guide to Balmora, making sure Estirdalin wasn't watching, and escaped to Wolverine Hall. He made his way down the road to the Council House, and was then approached by the Telvanni Wizard Gothren. While not a councillor currently, he was considered a very important member of the House.

"Dan, I have heard of your late achievement. I think you got the closest anyone has to giving Neloth a smile in over a hundred years. Of course, it was more of a grimace. Now come this way, as I have a very special offer for you." Curious, Dan followed Gothren to a corner of the room.

"Now, Dan, I would like to tell you your mission. There is a very dangerous person I need you to take care of. The man goes by the name of Drelas Athrys. He is a danger to House Telvanni, and he has to be killed. If you were to take care of him, you will become my Mouth. Will you do this?" Dan, hearing about being promoted all the way to the point of Mouth, immediately agreed to the offer. He then set out to find Drelas Athrys. Gothren had given a location in the Molag Amur region to find him.

Dan got some of his stuff together, and then found a boat to the small city south of the Molag Amur region. Dan got on the boat, and fell asleep.

Dan woke up several hours later, sweating a lot. He had another dream, like the last one he had. What did they mean? He sat down and thought on the dream he had.

_Dan watched as he saw a haze of red in front of him. He saw the same figure from the last dream, in the dark haze of the red fog. He heard a deep voice laughing at the man. Then the red haze disappeared. Dan saw the man standing before an object, which was glowing and covered in the red haze. Then Dan saw yet again the man reaching for him from the cliff. Dan reached for him, and grabbed his hand. Suddenly, Dan was somewhere else._

_Dan saw another red object, which was unlike the other. This one was the color of blood, and floated in the air, an object of menace. Then Dan saw the man again, fighting another figure. Was the other figure a man? Dan could not say. Sometimes, Dan was almost sure he was, but then he appeared as an animal._

_The fog enveloped Dan again, and he found himself somewhere else. He was in a room, and yet another red orb was in front of him. It glowed brightly, and he heard yet more laughter, which seemed human yet not human. Dan then felt a sword in his hand. Dan looked around and did not see the man. Where was the man? The red haze came again, and Dan awoke to evil laughter._

What was causing these dreams? And were they just random dreams? Or something else? Dan didn't know for sure, but perhaps one day he could speak to a healer about it. For now, though, he decided to continue on his mission, as the boat was docking into Molag Mar.

Dan got off the boat, and made his way through town to the bridge. As he crossed it, he looked ahead. The land was dark and ashy, and Dan wondered how anything survived in it. He made his first steps onto the ground of the Molag Amur, and lightly kicked up ash as he began his walk through the region.

Fifteen cliff-racers, two guar, and ten hours later, and Dan had arrived at the place whereman he was to kill stayed. He walked forward, and found a small campsite, with several men in it. He could tell they were mages, and were also probably very good. Dan walked around the camp, looking for a way he could get them before they could fight back.

Finally, he saw that they had very large barrels full of what appeared to be Mazte. Perfect. Dan stepped back, and after getting a good distance away, sent a fire spell at the whole of barrels.

When the fire hit the barrels, the explosion was immediate. There were yells, and several more barrels to the sides were exploding as well. Dan walked towards the camp, and heard screams from those who had survived the explosion, yet were now burning. Dan immediately used a shock spell on them. He was simply doing what he was told to, and no longer thinking about it. It was easy.

Finally, Dan found there was one man who had survived the explosions and had not caught fire. Dan saw that he was obviously a leader, by the way he stood among the burning tents and barrels.

Dan spoke to him. "Are you Drelas Athrys?" The man stared at him, and defiantly said, "I am." Dan looked him in the eyes. "Then I have to kill you." Dan pulled out his shortsword, and ran at Drelas. The man then stepped out of the way, and pulling out his katana, delivered a quick thrust to Dan. Dan jumped back, and used a fire spell to hit Drelas with. It made contact, but Drelas' Dunmer heritage gave him almost complete resistance, and the fight continued.

After about ten minutes of fighting, both were still standing. Dan had several cuts and bruises all over his body, whereas Drelas was almost completely fine. Their swords kept clashing, stopping only for the occasional spell, and so it continued. Dan was then slashed by the katana, and it drew blood. Dan felt some of his own life being pulled away, and then knew the katana was enchanted. He dodged another slash, and thrust at Drelas.

Dan was kicked to the ground, and landed there, with his sword over to the side and his magic recharging. He lay there, and watched as Drelas raised his sword. Then, when Drelas brought the sword down, Dan rolled away, got up, grabbed the sword, and turned it back on Drelas.

Drelas let out a gasp of surprise. He looked down, and saw the sword protruding from his chest. He looked at Dan, with almost a slight smile on his face. "So," he said, "my sword gives its loyalty to you." With that, Drelas fell backwards, and died.


	9. Chapter 8: Betrayal, Part 2

1

Ashes to Ashes: A Story of the Elder Scrolls World

Chapter 7: Betrayal, Part 2

Dan stood, looking at the man's body. He pulled the katana out the man's body, and looked it over.It was slim, and perfectly balanced. It also had a magical effect, as Dan had noticed in battle, which could suck life away. He could almost hear the sword itself speaking to him, in a whisper.

Dan remembered Drelas' words. The katana belonged to him. Dan took the sheath, and made a small camp a little bit away from where he had attacked. Dan made a small dinner, then went to sleep.

The next morning, Dan woke up, with his magic fully charged, and used a teleport spell to go back to the Council House in Sadrith Mora. He walked in, and found Councillor Gothren waiting for him. "Dan! How did it go?" He brought Dan to a small room, and then asked Dan about the encounter.

Dan told Gothren about the camp, and how he had fought it. Gothren was impressed, and congratulated Dan on the fight. "Now, I would also like to know about a weapon Drelas was supposed to possess. Did you happen to find a katana of his? I need it to show the Council that we've taken care of him."

Dan opened his mouth to tell of the katana he had, but found himself saying otherwise. "No. I didn't see a katana there." Gothren was disappointed, but congratulated Dan all the same. "I'll be contacting you in a few days," he said. Then he made his way to the Council Hall.

Dan, tired as it was, made his way back to Sadrith Mora, where he used the guild guide and made his way to his bed in Balmora. There, he collapsed, and fell asleep.

A few hours later, he was forcefully awoken when he was suddenly thrown out of his bed. Estirdalin began yelling. "Telvanni spy! Get out! GET OUT!!!" Dan ran from the Mages Guild, chased by all the mages out the door. He realized that almost all his stuff was still in there, but he would not be able to get it back.

Dan went towards the silt strider. He asked for a ride to Vivec. From there he would go to Sadrith Mora. He sat in the silt strider, wondering how the Mages Guild had figured out about his being in the House Telvanni. Had someone betrayed the Telvanni?

Dan arrived in Vivec, and went down to the boats. He rode in those, and a few hours later, landed near the Council House. On the dock, however, was a Telvanni waiting for him. It was Ranis, who he had become a good friend with in House Telvanni. He wondered why she was here.

Suddenly, she ran at him, shooting spells at him. Dan jumped out of the way. "What are you doing, Ranis?!?" She yelled at him, shooting more spells at him. "You killed my father! You KILLED HIM!!!" Dan jumped away from another spell, and used silence on her. She then ran at him with her fists, but Dan used a paralyze spell. Even paralyzed, he could see she had begun to scream, and he brought her to the boat. "Here, bring her to the silt strider in Vivec, and have him bring her to Balmora." The boat owner agreed, and took off with her.

Dan ran immediately to the Council House. What was going on? Had Ranis betrayed House Telvanni? And why would she say he killed her-Dan stopped dead. _Drelas Athrys had been Ranis' father. _He realized the implications behind that. Then who was Drelas?

Dan found Gothren in the Council Hall, and walked to him. Gothren smiled. "Dan, I wasn't expecting you so soon. Why are you here?" Dan walked to him. "I want to know who Drelas was. Now." Gothren shook his head at Dan. "Dan, you realize that you aren't the smartest of people, right? Who in the world do you think I would honestly want dead?" He leaned in to Dan's ear. "Drelas was Uvirith, the Telvanni Archmagister. Thanks to you, I am now Archmagister."

Dan stared at him in shock. Gothren simply laughed. "Oh, dumbfounded, are you? I would think so. But, you also shouldn't be. Why do you think those people were so skilled with magic? And didn't you ever know Ranis' last name?" Gothren began to walk away. "Oh, by the way, the deal's off. You don't get to be my Mouth. Because I already have one. Sorry." Gothren laughed again as he walked away, and Dan stared in oblivion.

At the Hole in the Wall in Sadrith Mora, Dan flipped a gold piece in the air with his finger, while he sat in his room. He kept seeing it over and over again. Drelas. Dead. Just like the Nord he killed in the cave. Just like his family, dead in High Rock. Just like Usheeja, who was probably dead now, succumbing to the whips of slavery. He couldn't get it out of his head. He had lost his parents. He had killed someone else's parent.

Dan lay in his bed, thinking of his life. Had it taken a turn for the worse? Could any good come from it now? He wondered if he had doomed his life completely. He then fell into a restless sleep.


End file.
